The New Year is just a few hours away, and soon we will be inundated with “Happy New Year” messages from our friends, family, and almost everyone. If you want to wish a Happy New Year to those close to you, but don’t want your message to appear as one of dozens of messages the other person receives, WhatsApp has something for you. The Meta-owned platform has announced a number of special features for users to celebrate the coming year.

Special features of WhatsApp New Year 2026, what’s new?

In a blog post, WhatsApp said that the New Year is the biggest day for the platform as billions of people around the world wish each other. This time the company wants to make it more interactive. WhatsApp has released the 2026 sticker pack, which comes with a collection of New Year-themed stickers for users to share when midnight strikes.

For video callers, WhatsApp now offers special effects that can be triggered during conversations. By tapping on the effects icon, users will see fireworks, confetti and star animations, bringing a visual element to long-distance celebrations. According to the company, this feature is for those people who may be separated from their loved ones.

Animated confetti reactions are also making a comeback in the season. When users react to messages with the confetti emoji, special animated effects appear, adding a light-hearted touch to exchanges. For the first time, WhatsApp is bringing animated stickers to status updates, allowing users to post a dedicated 2026 layout with animated stickers to publicly mark their celebrations.

WhatsApp New Year 2026 features availability

All additional features, including the 2026 sticker pack, video call effects, and confetti reacts, have been made available to all users globally. According to WhatsApp, these features will be available throughout the holiday period.

The coming 24 hours seem to be very important for WhatsApp. The Meta-owned platform claims that the New Year has broken records for message and call volumes on the platform due to the global exchange of wishes and coordinated celebrations.